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An Israeli woman mourns the victims of the Hamas attacks
Item information
- Author: Grigor Atanesian
- Scroll, from the BBC’s disinformation team
27 minutes ago
Without the qualifications to speak on the topic, these influencers amassed millions of followers who denied the atrocities committed by Hamas and used archival images manipulated and generated by artificial intelligence to talk about the situation.
Experts who study disinformation say the accounts appear to monetize events by posting inflammatory and often inaccurate content, luring revenue from paying subscribers.
From climate activism to the antiIsrael crusade
Jackson Hinkle leads the group of these recently emerging influencers. Hinkle, a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is 24 years old and describes himself as a “MAGA communist.” [Make America Great Again, movimento de apoiadores do expresidente dos EUA, Donald Trump]”
Between October and November months of escalating violence between Israel and Hamas Hinkle’s account quadrupled in size, reaching two million followers, and he had the most views, shares, likes and replies of any account covering the conflict on the platform posts.
This exponential growth is due to the type and number of posts he writes: a constant stream of false or misleading claims and graphic videos showing injured children and destroyed homes.
Although disturbing, these posts still attract attention and are widely shared.
An analysis by Logically, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence to monitor misinformation, found that Hinkle’s posts have been shared more than 20 million times on X since October 7.
He also wrote 75% (15 of 20) of the most shared posts about the war between Israel and Hamas.
For such an influential voice, Hinkle is not an expert in the field: Before the Hamas attack, he rarely tweeted about the conflict and was known more for his environmental and proRussian views.
Previously, he was an environmental activist and was featured in Teen Vogue’s list of “Young Environmentalists Working to Save the Earth.”
Hinkle gained internet fame by using the oxymoronic moniker “MAGA communist” and repeatedly spreading Kremlin misinformation and propaganda, such as false claims that Ukraine is ruled by Nazis and that its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is a drug addict.
He said genetics was a “false science,” professed his love for Stalin and supported the Assad regime in Syria.
When Hamas attacked Israel, Hinkle made an abrupt aboutface. He began posting dozens of antiIsrael messages every day, equating Israel with the socalled Islamic State and alQaeda organizations considered terrorists by the British government.
One of his tweets used old images of Israeli attacks on Gaza to illustrate current events. Another cited a purported investigation by Haaretz, a progressive newspaper in Israel, which he said confirmed that 900 people (instead of more than 1,200 at the last official count) were killed in the Hamas attacks, and that half of those were Israeli soldiers.
However, Haaretz never published such a story and released a statement saying Hinkle’s post contained “obvious lies” and had “absolutely no relation” to Haaretz’s reporting.
The post is still available and has more than five million views.
Hinkle even went so far as to deny Hamas atrocities, claiming that the civilians who were attending a festival at the time of her murder were not victims of Hamas members but were in “crossfire” with Israeli police.
“Hamas is not guilty of the October 7 atrocities,” reads Hinkle’s post, which is still available on the platform.
None of this is true: The BBC confirmed the veracity of images showing Hamas gunmen killing unarmed festival attendees.
In an interview with the BBC, Hinkle stated that he was “telling the truth” about the conflict. He said that while he rarely mentioned it on Twitter before Oct. 7, he had talked about it on other platforms.
Hinkle said he is “not trying to profit from anything” and that “it’s better to make a living by telling the truth than by lying about these critical issues.”
When asked about his lack of experience, he replied that “the experts and the mainstream media aren’t really experts.”
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Palestinians search for victims at the site of an Israeli attack in the southern Gaza Strip
Misinformation and sensationalism
Jackson Hinkle isn’t the only influencer to use these tactics.
Mario Nawfal is a Dubaibased entrepreneur who previously owned companies in the wellness and kitchen appliance industries.
He was supported by Elon Musk on several occasions, including in his analyzes of Russian affairs, despite having no experience in the field.
Nawfal does not appear to favor either side of the conflict, but his constant updates to his 1.1 million followers which often begin with “URGENT” or “NEW” or “BREAKING NEWS” do not cite sources and sometimes repeat misleading information. Nawfal presented a video of rocket fire in Syria and said it showed events in Gaza.
That post was eventually deleted, but another falsely claiming that Hamas kidnapped an Israeli general is still active and has been viewed more than 18 million times.
The BBC reached out to Nawfal but received no response at the time of publication of this report.
Two rightwing American influencers who had also previously remained silent on the conflict, Collin Rugg and Dominick McGee (known as Dom Lucre), also gained tens of thousands of followers in October by posting about the war.
Rugg repeated false reports about Hezbollah fighters parachuting into Israel. Dom Lucre released old videos from Gaza to illustrate recent events and presented a Catholic meeting in Poland as a proIsrael demonstration.
McGee told the BBC he had stopped sharing information about the conflict and denied he was monetizing the suffering. Rugg did not respond to the BBC’s request for an interview.
There are also anonymous accounts that often post texts containing unverified and sensational information.
Two of these accounts were recommended by Elon Musk as sources to learn more about the war and have gained hundreds of thousands of followers since October 7th.
Like the influencers, both accounts have a history of posting false and unconfirmed claims, such as images of an explosion near the Pentagon in the US that were proven to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
It also emerged that one of them had made antiSemitic comments in the past. Musk deleted the post promoting them.
According to a report from the University of Washington, influencers and anonymous accounts have collectively become “the largest sources of Englishlanguage ‘news’ on X” about the war between Israel and Hamas.
Profit from war
BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh observed and debunked misleading posts about the IsraelHamas war shared on X.
“Social media algorithms reward shocking or scandalous content that is posted regularly and regularly. “War provides fertile ground for this type of content,” he says. “Under Elon Musk, the X Premium feature encourages this.”
X Premium and Premium Plus are paid subscriptions implemented by Musk. Replies from paying users are “expedited,” or shown first. Users can also offer paid subscriptions on their accounts. You are also entitled to payments from advertising revenue.
Subscription fees paid on X vary: Hinkle charges $3 per month, while prices for other popular accounts range from $1 to $5. The number of paying subscribers is not disclosed.
In July, an account that posted antiSemitic comments bragged about receiving $16,191 as part of the X Plan to share advertising revenue for content creators.
“The income offered to X Premium subscribers and the scale of follower growth since October 7 are two very tangible reasons to continue engaging in these practices,” says Kyle Walter, head of research at Logically.
The BBC reached out to X, but the platform did not respond.